Member Spotlight: Esteban Diego
Author: Anonymous, August 2011
While he does possess one of the more complete Who’s Who pages, there was still a lot that we felt we could find out about this often-Councillor-to-the-Hall. I volunteered to go on this bear hunt, and found that he was more than willing to come out of the cave and talk awhile.
Thanks to being a pretty open book, I had something to go on; the first thing I was curious to know was about his time in the US military, and how he saw that time in the service reflected in his interactions in the Tower. He replied, “I was an active duty member of the United States Marine Corps from 1987 to 1992. I find that because of my time in service, I can embrace belonging to something bigger than myself. And because the Marines are such a small branch of the military, we are like brothers which is how I feel about SDS.”
His statement about belonging to something bigger than himself brought me to how often he’s been in the Hall. I asked him if there is something particular about serving there that appeals to him. He explained, “Being a member of the Hall gives me the chance to learn about and discuss and talk to people I'm not familiar with yet. Plus it gives me the opportunity to be a bit more active on the boards even though that's tanamount to sacrilege as SDS.”
Like many SDS, he loves to get out to do things offline, in that suspicious realm called “RL”. I noted that on his page, in fact, it says that while he loves Wheel of Time and works at a Renaissance Festival, in a choice between Randland and the real world, he’d take here. He elaborated, “Well, here is where my life is. Besides the fact that I love electricity, and running hot and cold water. But because I work at the Ren Festival, I can enjoy the things I like the most about both eras. Because let's face it, someone like me (i.e. mixed race) doesn't really exist in either Randland (yet!) or the Renaissance.”
Still, he does love The Wheel of Time, and especially the nation of Arafel, so I asked him what about the Borderland country appealed to him? I couldn't recall seeing bells in his hair. He corrected, “Actually, I do have bells for my hair that I made myself. All of the Borderlands fit with my mindset in doing the things to protect without want or need of praise. And Arafel specifically because they do it with a sense of style.”
A sense of style certainly fits this impressive Gaidin; the first time I got to meet him was Ninth Anni, where, amongst other things, he performed a masterful rendition of Young MC's "Bust a Move". I had to ask, just how many gold and platinum albums does he see himself being awarded before his time is up? He replied without hesitation, “Well I enjoy Karaoke and maybe someday... but seriously I am trying right now to get a band together to play at ren faires and hopefully we can get that off the ground. Keep your fingers crossed.”
Finger-crossing would have to wait until I was done typing. I decided to try and see, from his point of view, what made RL events so special, and if he could choose a favorite. He reminisced: “Well the one I have gone to the most is Dragon-con, then 3 Jordan-Cons, followed by two Annis and a host of local events. Each one is different and special for it's own reasons. D*Con because there is so much to do and so many people I know inside and outside of TV, Jordan-Con because the focus is more on just the books, Annies because I have gotten to meet so many more members of TV and I always enjoy meeting new people and the local events are nice for just hanging out with the people you see most often in a laid back setting. Each one caters to different parts of my personality so I can't chose just one.”
As always with a bonded Gaidin, I knew I could get a more complete view by going to his Sedai. I tracked down Muirenn, who warmly told me what she thinks of her Warder: “Steve is loyal, fun-loving, and bitey. I couldn't ask for a better friend than Steve. He is the type of person I know that I can count on if needed. He is also an incredibly fun drinking buddy. I remember one D*Con just after I had joined the Green Ajah where he and I got to attend the Green Ajah toast. For some reason I got it into my head that I could keep up with him drinking shots. We went toe-to-toe for several hours because we were both too stubborn to give in. Twenty-something of Seri's jell-o shots later, we decided to call it a tie! And as for the biting...Steve's fangs are a wonder to behold...”
With Muirenn having revealed some delightfully surprising tidbits already, I asked her what one thing would people most be surprised to learn about Esteban. She replied, “He's a big ol' softie. His awesome personality is no surprise to his SDS brothers or others who know him. However, if you were to first meet him in person he appears to be quite intimidating! He is over six feet tall and built like a bear! Once you get him to share one of his easy smiles or big laughs you can get a glimpse of his true nature.”
Finally, gven that SDS are famous for being people you actually hang out with, I had to ask her what the ideal way is to spend time with her bear. Off-the-cuff, she said, “Jell-o shots! Really though, I mostly enjoy just sitting and talking with Steve about just about any topic. We have several nerd interests in common, from WoT to Renfaires to RPing to politics. I can easily lose an entire night just talking (and have!).”
Having a more rounded view of our good man, I went back to him, and asked him, if given the chance to say something to our community, what would he say? He knew right away where he wanted to go, stating, “Always remember, in our little community it is important to respect each other. You might not agree with the other person, but make sure you are respectful of their rights even more than they are of yours. The only way this works is because we have a common interest, don't let the differences divide us. We always have a starting point for respectful discourse. Now that I have that out of my system, let's end with something SDSish: ‘Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- WOW-- What a Ride!’”
And that, my friends, is Esteban Diego.
